NEW ORLEANS, (WGNO) Friends and family of Mickey Easterling are saying their final farewells to the well-known New Orleanian.
The philanthropist, socialite and proud Louisiana native passed away last week at the age of 83.
More than a thousand people attended her larger than life memorial service, with Mickey just as she wanted to be remembered… causally sitting on an iron bench, wearing a magnificent hat with a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigarette holder in the other.
“She`s in a Leonardo outfit,” says Sammy Steele who did Mickey’s hair and make-up. “And I actually dressed her tonight for the occasion.”
It`s no secret Mickey loved to be the center of attention.
But she always turned that attention into helping people in need.
“She touched so many different people. She made such a contribution in our city, to arts and the community,” says Steele. “Mickey is known for throwing some of the most memorable New Orleans parties. One specific one I remember was the one she gave for Lena Horne.”
“It’s like something out a department store window in New York. On 5th Ave.,” says Steele referring to how Mickey’s memorial service was planned by her ahead of time, “This is what she requested. She`s sitting in a garden scenery to depict her back yard. This is what she wanted. No stone was left unturned for this memorial.”
“She looks wonderful,” says one bystander. “She looks just like Mickey.”
Mickey is a Graduate of Mt. Carmel Academy.